Centrifuges are typically designed to run a population of rotors. In this regard, a given centrifuge system may include upwards of 30 or more compatible rotors. It is important to know which rotor is being used as performance parameters are impacted by rotor characteristics. For example, the performance parameters of Relative Centrifugal Force (RCF) mode are calculated based on the location of the sample in the rotor. Therefore, rotor identification and tracking devices have been incorporated into some conventional centrifuges. For example, some conventional centrifuges include a display to present a list of compatible rotors to a user and toggle switches to provide the user with a scrolling and/or rotor selection means. However, the large number of compatible rotors can make this a laborious and difficult process. To facilitate the selection, some centrifuges have the rotors grouped in sub-populations by type (for example, fixed angle, swinging bucket, vertical). While this may be an improvement, there are still large numbers of rotors in a sub-population (for example, 20 or more fixed angle rotors) making the selection process difficult.
Another conventional method of reducing the possible rotor selections to scroll through relies upon a “recently used list.” This recently used list typically includes the 3 to 5 most recently used rotors. However, this method is of little or no value when selecting rotors not included in the recently used list. For example, if the desired rotor has not been previously used or the number of rotors used exceeds the capacity of the recently used list.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method and apparatus capable of overcoming the disadvantages described herein.